Egypt's Shoukry Comments on Postponement of EU-Arab Meeting over Assad

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry commented on the European Union's decision to put off a joint ministerial meeting with the Arab League because the EU objected to Arab rapprochement with the Syrian regime.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced Sunday that the sixth EU-Arab ministerial meeting was postponed due to the EU’s opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime being welcomed back into the Arab League after a 12-year suspension.

Borrell made the remarks from Cairo, where he met with Egyptian officials over the weekend.

"Including Syria in the Arab League is a sovereign decision, and we respect it, we respect it fully, but we also see that this was done in a situation where the Syrian regime did not make any meaningful efforts towards solving the conflict," Borrell said in a joint press conference alongside Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

"Our position…on the Syrian regime has not changed and will not change until they make progress in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2254," he added.

"At this moment, there is no serious accountability for the regime, and this is not perceived lightly by us, and that’s why the EU and the Arab League postponed our ministerial meeting at the request of the European Union."

The UNSCR 2254 calls for a ceasefire and political solution in Syria, however, talks between the Syrian regime and the opposition have stalled repeatedly.

The EU and US have imposed economic sanctions on Assad and other key regime-linked figures and entities for a host of atrocities carried out during the war in Syria, now in its 12th year.

The EU’s two strongest member states, France and Germany, have so far ruled out any chance of normalization with Assad, stating that restoration of ties would not address the root cause of the war and would reward a regime accused of the mass slaughter, torture and displacement of its people.

Shoukry said the meeting’s cancellation was unfortunate, adding that the EU should have "appreciated" Syria’s return.

He noted it was a collective decision taken in the regional body to give back the Syrian regime its seat, while Arab countries discuss ways of implementing UNSCR 2254.

On the other hand, a committee made up of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon is also looking into ways of solving the Syrian refugee crisis and curbing drug smuggling from the war-torn country.

The smuggling of the amphetamine Captagon, in particular, is said to be a major source of financing for the regime and has become a thorn in the side of the governments of surrounding nations.